[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13311-13312]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            REMEMBERING 9/11

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I remember Tuesday, September 11, very 
clearly.
  Room 219 is where Senator Daschle held his Tuesday morning leadership 
meeting, which started at 9 o'clock. I was the first Senator in that 
room. John Breaux of Louisiana came in a short time later, and he said: 
Something is going on in New York. Flip on the TV. And we did, and 
there was a tower burning, and we were thinking, how could an airplane 
run into that tower?
  We basically didn't pay any attention to that TV. We turned it off 
because there was a meeting there. We assembled for a meeting, Senator 
Daschle called it to order, and just a short time after the meeting was 
started, he got a note. Somebody came in and took him out, and he came 
in and said: We have to vacate the building. There is an airplane 
headed toward the Capitol. So of course we all hurriedly left 219.
  I remember that day so very clearly. Senator Nickles was my 
Republican counterpart, Senator Trent Lott was Senator Daschle's 
counterpart, and the four of us were taken off the west front of the 
Capitol to a secret location, where we spent most all the day. The Vice 
President was there and kept us informed as to what was going on. As we 
left 219, Mr. President, you could look out the window and see the 
smoke billowing out of the Pentagon.
  It was a very difficult day for all of us. Yesterday, we observed the 
10th anniversary of those attacks, but the truth is I remember that day 
as if it were only yesterday. That day, Osama bin Laden and his radical 
followers didn't just launch an attack on planes or buildings. They 
launched an attack on the American spirit. They launched an attack on 
our freedom and our democracy.
  Rather than being crippled by the terrible acts of those madmen, 
rather than allowing uncertainty and fear to rule us, this Nation was 
again stronger than ever. And we really did it in one way, and that was 
by coming together. The darkness that day reminded us of our collective 
strength and power. It reminded us that there is nothing we cannot 
achieve together, as one Nation under God, indivisible, and, of course, 
with liberty and justice for all. So we pledged to bring justice to the 
perpetrators of those terrible acts, and we followed through on that 
pledge with an unfaltering campaign to dismantle al-Qaida and its 
supporters. This year, our brave Navy SEALs and others gave Osama bin 
Laden his due. We also pledged to rebuild, and I am very happy to see 
the proud towers of the new World Trade Center rising from the ashes of 
Ground Zero.
  That doesn't mean the memory of that day is not painful, because it 
is, especially to those who lost loved ones. Thousands of people lost 
loved ones. Nothing could ever make up for the loss of a mother or 
father, son or daughter, brother or sister, friend, or a spouse who was 
just catching a plane, going to work, or at work on that horrific day. 
They are the reason we will never forget--ever.
  So today, as yesterday, I honor the memory of the thousands of 
innocent people who died at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, on 
the hijacked planes in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. I honor 
the memory of the firefighters who knew the danger they faced when they 
entered those buildings but went in anyway. I honor the police and 
rescue workers who rushed to the scene and combed through the debris, 
some of whom died that day. I honor the many dedicated members of our 
Armed Forces, our State Department, the U.S. Agency for International 
Development, and our intelligence community who have sacrificed their 
lives to keep us safe and keep September 11 from ever happening again.
  Today, at approximately 6 o'clock, we will gather on the east front 
of the Capitol. In looking at the program, I see the final thing that 
will happen there is one of the military bands and choir will sing 
``God Bless America.'' That happened on September 11. Senator Daschle 
and I had come back, and we gathered on the front of the Capitol. We 
really were there not knowing what to do; we just wanted to be 
together. As I remember, Senator Mikulski said in her usual voice, 
which demands attention, ``Let's sing `God Bless America.''' And we 
did. I don't know how well we sang it, but it was a memorable event. So 
I will remember that very clearly tonight when we close our recognition 
ceremony out there on the east front of the Capitol singing ``God

[[Page 13312]]

Bless America''--something we did 10 years ago.
  Mr. President, I honor America's spirit of perseverance and 
commitment to freedom. May we never forget.
  Will the Chair announce the business of the day.

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